Guest asks to pay Weekly for 6 week stay

We are fairly inexperienced hosts. Our listing says “ no pets” because we have two dogs that, although very friendly, we cant guarantee how they will behave with other dogs in their yard. Just received a request for a 6 week stay for a guest and her dog while she works as a nurses assistant on contract. She asked to pay weekly. First, can you do this through Airbnb? And second, the dog? Lots of ifs around the dog. If our dogs got along, if her dog is going to stay on the casita for hours while she works, for example. Thank you for any insight.

No - she pays for the full stay when she books. You could allow her to book for 1 week and see how it goes and do direct from there. Sounds like you will be baby sitting the dog.

I think it falls under long-term and Airbnb will divide it up so the guest pays for the first 30 days, then for the rest.

You don’t want a pay-by-the-week option. You would need to keep your calendar blocked for the full 6 weeks, but if the guest leaves after 4 weeks, then it could be difficult to re-book those last 2 weeks because your calendar has been blocked.

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Who’s going to be looking after the dog while she’s working i terms of feeding it and walks?

What if it barks constantly when left alone?

Why would you want someone who can’t afford to pay for their stay?

Not quite sure why you would want to consider this booking?

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We have a “no pets” rule on all OTA’s.

A few times last year, when our apartments were empty due to perimeter confinements etc, we received enquiries from guests who wanted to bring a “small, well trained dog” for three or four weeks. It was tempting, as the money would have been welcome, but ultimately we declined them all.

You have a house rule for a reason, you have two dogs who may get a bit territorial with a strange animal.

Essentially this guest wants to break not only one of your house rules, she also wants to go against the ToS with the OTA.

She could end up being the best guest you’ve ever had, but on the other hand, she might be a nightmare who wants to push other boundaries in respect of your terms.

Wanting to pay weekly may not be a sign that the guest doesn’t have the money, it may be an indication that the guest is not fully committed to the full stay. As @Brian_R170 said, you need to block your calendar for her, with no guarantee she’ll fulfil the booking.

It’s a no from me.

JF

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Mostly I agree with you and I’m not saying the OP should accept the booking but this is a nurse working on contract. S/he may not have enough money to pay in full but will likely be paid a per diem housing expense, possibly weekly. The OP may want to ask to see the contract to ensure that the amount the nurse is being paid will cover the cost of the STR and how frequently the nurse is paid, etc. Just my 2 cents.

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The fact that she wants to pay weekly sends a huge red flag! It means that she’s living paycheck to paycheck, has no savings and no credit. I would be concern that she might become a swatter.

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As Ritz3 says – huge red flag there. She’s a nurse, makes decent money. Why only pay weekly? She probably needs a place to crash until she finds “something better”.
You aren’t in the “crash pad” business. cShe an’t do weekly through Air unless you book her for only a week. Right up front she wants to violate your NO PET house rule? I say NO WAY!!

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Agree. I probably wouldn’t risk it, but with a soft spot for front line health workers, if considering I would ask some very intrusive questions about her contract. And call the hospital, clinic whatever to verify.

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I would book her for a week on Airbnb and go from there, almost certainly converting her to direct pay if the first week went well. I’d also ask for a pet deposit payment up front.

I board dogs in my home and have been around hundreds of dogs meeting each other for the first time. Most dogs aren’t aggressive towards other dogs but if you’ve never had yours around other dogs, you just don’t know until you try.

This is the kind of booking that I would probably try to get. However once you reply with all your conditions he or she may just move on to the next place. I had a nurse book here for a week last month but she canceled the next day. No doubt she found a cheaper, more flexible, more desperate host.

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Thanks everyone for your input. This is very helpful!

If you accept the dog you are breaking one of your house rules right from the start. If you, the host, break your own rules you’re just leaving the door wide open for guests to break your rules too.

Twenty one days is my max yet most guests stay for under a week. However, if I had someone who wanted to stay with me for six weeks and pay weekly, I’d refuse that person. If a guest can’t beg, borrow or steal (hey, I don’t care where they get the money) enough for the entire stay, then I definitely wouldn’t want them.

She should look for somewhere she can afford.

There are too many drawbacks to long term guests and a working person with a dog in tow.

The fact that she’s enquiring via Airbnb indicates that she could have a hard time should a long term landlord wanted to credit-check her.

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Why would you want a guest who right off the bat wants to contravene your no pets rule? Why isn’t she looking for a pets allowed listing?
Red flag entitlement, as is only wanting to pay weekly.

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The applicant probably just liked your place for location, amenities, etc. and took a chance on asking to book. You are totally free to say no!
Travel healthcare workers bringing their pet is probably not unusual - they’d have to board if a friend or family member couldn’t watch the pet, which would make it costly.
Week to week payment may simply be in response to the possibility of an assignment ending sooner than originally planned, which the employer can do. If they covered the entire period with personal funds upfront, they could lose when their per diem shuts off.
I’d take a pass due the unknowables about the pets getting along. The guest would have to scramble for other accommodation if it didn’t work out.

Also check your local laws regarding when a guest is considered a tenant- here in NY we have decided to only host max 28 days due to this and the eviction moratorium. And I certainly would not want to be calling an employer just to vet a guest. Re: having a pet, a pup could be well behaved around their owner and when taken out frequently+ in a familiar environment… but this wouldn’t be the case due to their work schedule. It would be a hard pass for me.

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